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“Invitation to Dance - It’s a Dance. And sometimes they turn the lights off in this ballroom. But we’ll dance anyway, you and I. Even in the Dark. Especially in the Dark. May I have the pleasure?” --- Stephen King ::::::::::: MY CRITERIA FOR DISCUSSION ENCOMPASSES THE HORROR GENRE AND BEYOND, SO I USE THE TERM "NIGHTMARE MOVIES". SPOILERS CAN OCCUR WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

December 15th 2008 23:06
Nosferatu, Phantom der Nacht movie poster
When maverick filmmaker Werner Herzog took it upon himself to direct a remake of what he felt was one of the most important German feature films ever made he ended up making a movie just as richly atmospheric, but burnt with a searing melancholy that brands itself to the viewer’s soul.
Nosferatu spectres of death
Mummified spectres of the undead
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979) is more than a just remake of F. W. Murnau's silent masterpiece; it is an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that doesn’t have to hide behind the guise of changed character names (although curiously Stoker’s novel is again uncredited). Klaus Kinski, Herzog’s muse, plays Count Dracula, Isabelle Adjani plays Lucy, Bruno Ganz plays Jonathon Harker, Roland Topor plays Renfield, Walter Ladengast plays Dr. Van Helsing, Martje Grohmann plays Mina.
Nosferatu 1979 Isabelle Adjani and Bruno Ganz
Isabelle Adjani as Lucy and Bruno Ganz as Jonathon Harker
Herzog wrote, produced and directed, and made two versions of the film: one in his native German tongue (aka Phantom of the Night), and one for, primarily, the American market; Nosferatu the Vampyre. All the sound in the movie has been dubbed in post-production, which adds a heightened theatricality to the visuals. Much of the cinematography has been shot using available light, and the entire movie (like Murnau) was filmed on location around Europe. Dracula’s Transylvanian castle is an extraordinarily eerie, yet beautiful location.
Nosferatu 1979 Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula
The whole movie floats and drifts like an ornamented funeral barge; dark and macabre, yet blanketed with a shadowy grandeur and desolate beauty; like the white-grey beach that Lucy finds herself wandering along after Harker has gone on his mission to assist the Count in his move to their home town of Wismar. It’s a film lost in time that transcends the ages.
Nosferatu 1979 Bruno Ganz and Klaus Kinski
The Count pays a visit on Jonathon
The three leads are perfectly cast and inhabit their characters effortlessly; but it is Isabelle Adjani’s immaculate porcelain skin, vacant eyes, luxurious hair and those full lips, contrasted with Klaus Kinski’s pointed ears, piercing eyes, hideous curled talons, and that mouth that linger longest in the mind. Adjani and Kinski make for a most powerful dual visage: the juxtaposition of pure innocence, elegance and pulchritude against deep-rooted lust, evil and grotesquerie. The vista and the abyss.
Nosferatu plague in the plaza
The plague in Wismar's plaza
Although Herzog uses Stoker’s characters names he follows Murnau’s version of events more closely, but changes the very end significantly, departing from both Murnau’s film and Stoker’s novel. I hadn’t seen the movie in quite some time and had forgotten how “Hollywood” Herzog’s ending is, it not only has a lead character riding off into the sunset (or in this case the sunrise), but it suggests there could be a sequel.
Nosferatu 1979 Isabelle Adjani and Klaus Kinski
The Count pays a visit on Lucy
Herzog has made some powerful and evocative films - both dramas and documentaries - but his homage to Murnau’s Nosferatu is my favourite, and not just because it’s a horror movie. With its haunting soundtrack (courtesy of Popol Vuh) and striking visual narrative, there’s something deeply affecting about this particular tale of bloodlust. The theme of supernatural possession mirrors a strangely human experience of loneliness and longing; spectres of sex and death whispering close enough to make the hairs on your back bristle. An overwhelming Gothic presence that creeps under the skin and crawls like pestilence, yet soft and dreamy, that stirs and yearns and echoes across the mountain steppes.
Nosferatu 1979 Isabelle Adjani and Klaus Kinski
Such a lovely throat, the Count can't resist necking til the cock crows
But Herzog’s Nosferatu is an acquired taste; its languid narrative will send the average Coffin Joe to sleep. You need to surrender yourself. Have a stiff whiskey, perhaps a late night puff, and then open the window to let the cool breeze waft through the moonlit room, and settle back. Nosferatu will embrace you, sliding its phantom arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer until you’re shrouded in the undead darkness …
Nosferatu 1979 Isabelle Adjani and Klaus Kinski
Publicity embrace

Nosferatu 1979 Polish movie poster
Polish movie poster


Here's the original German trailer:


Here's the original American trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews
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Comments
8 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

December 16th 2008 10:33
Where can I find this delight.

The DVD is like a phantom also.

Sound track by Popal Vuh.
They are terrific.

Comment by Natalie 2

December 16th 2008 18:22


My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog
I'm ashamed to say I haven't seen this one, Bryn. I am going to start looking for it immediately!

Comment by Bryn

December 16th 2008 21:39


Horrorphile
Damo, you should be able to find this at most decent video stores ...

Natalie, search and ye shall find ... just like the Count on his quest for fresh blood.

Comment by Anonymous

January 17th 2009 01:33
pragnę zostać wampirem pomóżcie proszę salisolgo@op.pl

Comment by Bryn

January 17th 2009 02:10


Horrorphile
anon aka "salisolgo", are you spamming?? i hope not!

Comment by ladynitre

October 21st 2010 23:08
Hee hee looked up your review of this and it is great. Very spot on - the film is both beautiful and grotesque and very haunting. It can stay with you for a long time afterwards.

This might sound like a crazy question but someone told me those mummies were real - real mummies of plague victims found in some cave and that really freaked me out. Are they meant to be instead as you say some sort of undead or something?

Comment by ladynitre

October 21st 2010 23:08
Hee hee looked up your review of this and it is great. Very spot on - the film is both beautiful and grotesque and very haunting. It can stay with you for a long time afterwards.

This might sound like a crazy question but someone told me those mummies were real - real mummies of plague victims found in some cave and that really freaked me out. Are they meant to be instead as you say some sort of undead or something?

Comment by Bryn

October 22nd 2010 02:24


Horrorphile
You found it! Yeah, this is a beautiful remake (a rare thing) ... Isabelle Adjani is so stunning in this. Yes, I think they were real mummies used, I wouldn't put it past Herzog to include that kind of thing, I mean he carried a huge boat over a mountain (Fitzcarraldo)!!

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